The art of Grisaille

The art of Grisaille (grey tone painting)

Plastic reliefs designed through light and shade

Grey tone painting is a reduction to the bare necessities : 3-5 grey tones (plus black and white). Once you have the hang of nuancing the colours correctly, how to set certain highlights and how to paint certain deepening with darker colours, you have a universal key making it possible to transform any smooth surface into a plastic relief. Furthermore you will also learn the basics for plastic modelling of bodies in representational painting, i.e. illusionistic mural paintings.

In the course of the seminar you will create1. A round opening in a wall, which is framed with a plastic profile, either with a grey background or with a view of the blue sky. Such a motif can be easily wallpapered onto any wall und opens the view to the outside. 2. a stone mascaron, on a paint sheet or a surface that can be wall-papered. This painting is to be installed above doors, a so called Sopraporte, and is supposed to catch one’s attention!3. a half pillar with a delicate capital. It seems to grow out of the painting subsurface thanks to grey tone painting! 4. a balustrade before a background of dark green vegetation.

There may not be enough time in the course of the seminar to finish all the example paintings in a perfect fashion. Our experience tells us that participants prefer starting a new topic during the seminar, for which they will then receive instructions and blueprints - and then later finish off the work they started during the seminars, at home.